Drakeo’s second project of all-new material since being released from prison is more relaxed and less bitter than his first. There’s a subtext to every flex; he’s been through the wringer, and this is his time to celebrate.
In the early 2010s, Los Angeles rap was in a transitional period, moving from the underground haven of Blu & Exile to the album-length narratives of YG and Kendrick Lamar. Drakeo the Ruler sailed in and upended all of that. He came to prominence on his 2015 mixtape I Am Mr. Mosley, which created waves for its unique slang like “Silly billy really want to try me for my pieces/bullets bodying for pints, yeah bitch it’s that easy.’’ Drakeo didn’t make albums with Spike Lee or John Singleton-like narratives in them; he reached his peak with minimalist drums, a Ghostface-like capacity to develop new slang at a single moment (Who ever heard of “flu flamming’’ before Drakeo said it?), and a 2Pac-like ability to combine different moods and feelings in one verse.
Hearing him rap is like eavesdropping on an illicit conversation between street heads, full of mumbled phrases and lingo for fear of anyone decoding what they're talking about: “Do I got to get tactical?/Start grabbing dracos off mattresses,” he mutters on “Intro,” the standout first statement on his new album, The Truth Hurts. This is his second project of all-new material since the deal that he struck on November 4th granted his freedom. The first, We Know the Truth, celebrated his freedom with a tinge of bitterness: “Twelve jurors, not guilty, nigga beat it,” he spat on “20 Pieces.” The Truth Hurts is more relaxed. Sure, everyone knows the subtext to when he laughs at his enemies, but there are no specific details about his case or his time spent locked up. He’s mostly flexing here, which is more in line with his work previous to the LASD’s scheme. At the same time, he is triumphant. There’s a subtext to everything: On “Exclusive,’’ he spits “The police asked me what's my name?/I told ‘em So Icy, I had to blind ‘em, they almost found the pole by me.” He’s been through the wringer; this is his time to celebrate.
His delivery might be in the descending tree of Bay Area legend E-40, but Drakeo only sounds like Drakeo. Where E-40 sounds like a drunk uncle, Drakeo is your playful and intense cousin. He has five different ways to describe a gun; it’s “heavy metal’’ on “Too Icey,” and a ”meat cleaver’’ on “10.’’ He’s also becoming a great songwriter. “It’s Sum Shit On Me’’ recreates the smoothness of Fabolous’ “Make Me Better,’’ but with the trademark ironclad monotone that has made Drakeo the best rapper of his region for the past three years. Drake is on the last song, “Talk to Me,” and they make a good duo. Drakeo gives Drake the ability to talk about sliding down on enemies in the club. Drake gives Drakeo the ability to spit game. There’s never a feature (except perhaps the Don Toliver one), that sounds like it is out of place in Drakeo’s world. “Pow Right in the Kisser,” which sounds like a Timbaland beat that drank lean, features fellow Stinc Team member Ketchy the Great in rare form. Drakeo lurks in the background adding “pow right in the kisser” after every Ketchy bar. The song is audaciously weird, and only gets more so as it goes on, like it’s daring you to complain about it.
Ketchy is on four songs on this album. On February 15th, Drakeo confirmed that Ketchy had sadly passed away the day in a car accident. Unfortunately, this loss is still something that Drakeo knows all too well being a Black man from South Central. Even when Drakeo achieves greatness, there’s going to be something trying to bring him down. With The Truth Hurts, this is now his fourth project that counts as the best rap music coming out of the West Coast. It keeps in line with the pared-down street production that JoogSZN and Ron-Ron have created, which is running the West Coast right now, while expanding on the songwriting and lyrical skills that made Drakeo a household name. If that wasn’t enough, his songs have now become the soundtrack to a movement. The LASD detectives are upset. They used song lyrics, rap beef, and his trademark slang to try to paint Drakeo and The Stinc Team as criminals. Now those same lyrics are making him a rap superstar.
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